RIBA presses Budget case for city architects as Chancellor adds £1.5bn to social housing programme

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has welcomed a further £1.5bn for the Social and Affordable Homes Programme announced in the Budget and urged the government to fund city architects alongside its devolution plans.

RIBA said the extra money takes total capital investment in social and affordable housing to more than £40bn over 10 years. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has described the programme as a new 10-year £39bn programme.

RIBA President Chris Williamson said: "Additional investment in the Social and Affordable Homes Programme shows the government is serious about meeting housing need."

The city architects proposal

RIBA said the Chancellor's speech was followed by plans to publish a Fiscal Devolution Roadmap setting out how the funding of regional government will be reformed. Williamson linked that agenda to the institute's campaign for city architects.

"Our proposal to reinstate city architects across the country would be a practical step towards ensuring the success of this agenda," he said.

The campaign dates from May 2026, when RIBA published its report Making the case for city architects. The report proposes a three-year pilot programme to embed design expertise and leadership in existing combined authorities in England, and recommends that each planning department is resourced to fund two architects with at least five years of experience.

RIBA modelling found a city architect could generate £47.6m in total additional value to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority over three years. The institute also cites 2025 MHCLG data showing 31% of local authorities surveyed have skills gaps in urban design and architecture, and research by British Land and WPI Economics estimating better designed cities could save the UK economy £15.3bn by 2050.

Launching the report in May, Williamson said that at a time of ambitious housebuilding there was a severe risk of pushing for quantity at the expense of quality.

Regulation and net gain

RIBA reported that the Chancellor said there would be no major changes to building regulations in this government, and that Biodiversity Net Gain requirements would be removed on brownfield sites. The institute's statement did not give further detail on the scope of either measure.

RIBA said it would continue to engage with the government to advocate for high-quality architecture and the economic value of well-designed places.

Background

In its response to the November 2025 Budget, Williamson said that statement held no surprises and favoured steady measures to stabilise public finances rather than bold action to unlock growth. At the time RIBA said fresh funding to recruit planners was welcome but far from what was needed to speed up the system, and called for far more substantial investment in capacity and access to skills, including design skills.

The Social and Affordable Homes Programme carries a government target for at least 60% of its homes to be Social Rent.